Summer = Beach (In Theory)

I lived with my parents this summer while interning in Rhode Island. They live about seven minutes from the beach and the first and only time I went to that beach this summer was on the day I left to drive back to Ann Arbor. What was I thinking?! I could have spent every weekend at the beach. The reality of my summer was that it rained like every day and was unnaturally cool... not at all pleasant for beach going. But the day I stopped by Nantasket Beach was beautiful.

To make up for my beachless summer I took a trip to Panama (in the name of full disclosure this trip was planned long before the beachlessness) where I went to what is, without a doubt, the best beach town I have ever been to. The town was called Bocas del Toro. It was sunny, hot, humid, and the water was like a giant warm bathtub. I went surfing, got sunburned, lounged in the water and ate at ocean side restaurants. Brilliant!

Two days after I returned to the US I got back on a plane to spend a week in Hatteras, NC with a group of friends. We rented a house on the beach and went swimming every day, multiple times a day. We managed to get lots of perfect beach days sandwiched in between two hurricanes / tropical storms.

Now I am back in Ann Arbor where I will be staying ... for at least a few weeks.

Down East

This summer to celebrate my dad's 60^th birthday the family headed up to Bar Harbor, ME to check out the town and Acadia National Park. It pretty much rained the whole time I was there but I still had a heck of a lot of fun.

We went up to Acadia to check out thunder hole and I climbed out on the rocks to watch the waves. There was such a sense of joy watching the water splash and I have to say, if I were water I would travel as far as I had to to have the opportunity to crash into a rocky coastline and jump up into the air.

We also went kayaking… one of my favorite activities. We saw starfish, sea urchins, seals and an eagle.

But quite possibly my favorite activity was a biplane tour of Mt Desert Island that I took with Abi.

Blight

For all those who have followed the saga of the upside-down hanging tomato plant thing. I would just like to say that, despite my best efforts, the only tomato to be ripe before I returned to Ann Arbor appeared to have fallen victim to the blight plaguing many tomato plants this year. Other that the quality of the tomato plants I used, I feel like the Topsy Turvy was a success and definitely something I would repeat in the future. The plants were not destroyed by critters and in my book that is a win.

Turtle Crossing

This sign is on a street near my parents' house.

I have seen many turtles crossing the street this summer but never by the sign. So, my question is – when does the turtle outreach and education program start?

Final Intern Moments

I have completed my summer internship! It went by so fast and I accomplished so much. Linden Place now has a seriously awesome business plan (hopefully a new website is not far behind) and the historic sites in the great state of RI (why is every state a "great state" or are there some states that aren't great?) have training materials on how to create their own business plans and collaborate.

The best part about this summer though, was the team PRI assembled to work on the project. Each of them interesting and accomplished women in their chosen field and wonderful people to work with. On our last day we went out to lunch, got some ice cream and went shoe shopping. Do last days get any better?

Birthday Fun

For my birthday this year my family went to the MFA to see an exhibit called Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice. I was great! They arranged the paintings by subject so that you could compare the three masters side by side and really see how they would compete with each other. I took a museum audio tour for the first time and was glad I did. It made me wonder what I've missed in all the museums I've been to throughout my 29 years because I didn't buy the extra audio tour.

After the MFA we went to Chipotle for a birthday burrito. I know, it was my birthday and I could have chosen anything … I just really enjoy Chipotle.

And then came the best part. The cake. In my mind there are only 2 kinds of cake worth eating – Rainbow Chip and German Chocolate. This year I couldn't decide which one I wanted so …

A new cake has been created and I loved every bite.